Friendship
by kitsuneshadow47
Summary: Young Riku is working as hard as he can to impress the girl he likes. However, a new student comes along and sits next to the silver. They become best friends-until Kairi becomes fond of the brunette...too fond for Riku. Will this ruin their friendship?


**.::*Friendship*::.**

**Genre: **Friendship/Romance

**Pairing:** RikuxSora ^~^

**Warnings: **Shounen-ai, maybe a little OOC, and tons and tons of FLUFFINESS!!! ^^

**Disclaimer: **I DO NOT own Kingdom Hearts--AT ALL (no matter how awesome it is XD)

**Dedication: **To a special friend of mine, who I haven't seen in a while...miss you, Kim! XD

**Author's Notes: **This fic is literally STUFFED with fluffiness--if you don't want to turn into an oversized teddy bear, leave now or forever hold your peace! (...wait did that come out right? = / ...oh, well! XD) To be a little more blunt, _GTFO if you don't want to become cotton candy!_ XD BUT if you insist on taking your head up into the clouds, then be my guest ^^ Really--it's okay. =) **I'm serious.** XD (wait am I talking to myself now? o.o LOL XD) Anyways...enjoy!

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It was Monday morning, and the little students of Robin's Nest Kindergarten were sitting at their desks, doing arts and crafts with their beloved teacher, Ms. Hazel. Today, the little ones were making tiny flowers out of crepe paper and pipe cleaners to decorate the classroom for spring. Each kindergartener was working diligently, folding up the colorful pieces of crepe paper in a unique way and sticking them to the green pipe cleaners. All the paper flowers looked very pretty to Ms. Hazel. However…there was one particular person who always stood out: the top student himself—Riku. He was a tall, silver- haired kid with sea green eyes. Riku would often do things better than the rest of his classmates, whether it be arts and crafts or even math. He always got A's on his tests, and was very obedient to Ms. Hazel, who (along with the rest of the class) would always acknowledge his achievements. With that being said, Riku was the most popular kid in his class. This acknowledgement would often increase Riku's self-esteem. Since he was an orphan and had no parents or siblings of his own, his kindergarten class would fill the void in his heart. In addition…there was one girl in particular whom he wanted to impress.

At that very moment, he was sitting by himself at a red desk by the window, staring at her. Kairi. She had short, dark red hair and big cerulean eyes. Right now she was laughing with another girl at a blue desk in the middle of the room.

Riku winced. He had always wanted to come up and talk to Kairi, maybe even be her friend. However, he never had the guts to do that, for he was too shy. He shifted his eyes back to his crepe flower, which he was making out of all different sorts of colors. Yes…he was _that _good.

Suddenly, Ms. Hazel came to the front of the room and called the class for attention.

All faced the front.

One kid tapped another kid's shoulder. "I wonder what's going on?"

"Pshh—she's probably gonna compliment Riku's art. She always does."

The silver-haired toddler glanced at the whispering boys, then focused his attention on Ms. Hazel.

The teacher smiled. "Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Ms. Hazel," the students replied in unison.

She smiled again. "Okay, class. Today we have a new student."

The toddlers began to murmur.

_New student?... _Riku thought.

At that very moment, Ms. Hazel stepped to her left, revealing a short, tan little boy with bushy brown hair and eyes even bluer than Kairi's. He stood there shyly in the front of the room facing his new classmates with an unsure expression.

"Class, I'd like you all to meet your new classmate---Sora."

"Hi, Sora!" the kindergarteners greeted in unison.

Little Sora twiddled his fingers. "H-h-hi…"

The teacher grinned. "Okay, Sora—you may take a seat wherever you'd like."

The brunette looked around the classroom.

Ms. Hazel lowered her head next to Sora's ear. "There's a chair next to Riku over there." She stood back up. "Riku, can you raise your hand, please?"

The silver-haired boy put his hand up.

The brunette nodded, walked over by the window, and sat down.

Pretty soon, almost all the toddlers began to greet and welcome young Sora into their class, asking different questions like "What's your favorite color?" or "Do you like sports?" It was as if he was their new toy to play with.

Riku was about to greet his new classmate as well…until Kairi walked over.

The redhead looked down at the brunette curiously. "Hi, Sora," she greeted warmly. "I'm Kairi." Kairi extended her hand.

Sora flinched at first, then shook the girl's hand. "H-hi, Kai-ri."

Kairi smiled. "You're gonna love it here!"

The brunette blushed.

After seeing this, the silver-haired boy turned away with a slight scowl on his face, feeling a little envious for Sora.

He was like this for a while until…he felt someone poke his arm. He turned to see the young brunette, who was looking back at him with innocent eyes.

Riku's eyes softened.

"Hi," Sora greeted in a tiny voice. He extended his tan hand. "You're Riku, right?"

The toddler hesitated for a moment, then shook the brunette's hand. He smiled. "…yeah."

Sora smiled, and looked down at the red desk. Riku shifted his eyes in the same direction, and saw that his new classmate was looking at his multi-colored crepe flower.

"…wow…" the brunette gasped.

The silver smiled. "…do you like it?"

Sora shifted his eyes towards Riku. "…yeah…" He held the masterpiece in his hands. "…how did you do that?"

The toddler grinned again. "Want me to show you how?"

The little brunette nodded eagerly.

"Okay, then…"

For the next few minutes, Riku had shown young Sora, step by step, how to make such a beautiful piece of art. …and pretty soon…the brunette had finally been able to make a paper flower that was just as dazzling as the silver's.

The rest of the class oohed and ahhed at little Sora's stunning success. If one took a look at it now, even _he _would be as amazed as the tiny toddlers were.

And it indeed, was stupendous. Just like Riku, the young brunette had painstakingly pieced together different sheets of colorful paper, only his flower used a different combination. In addition, he had gotten the idea from Kairi to curl the pipe cleaner he was using with a pencil to make it look even more marvelous.

Even Ms. Hazel was struck with awe. She bent down to look at the little flower and shifted her eyes towards its creator. "Wow, Sora!" the teacher exclaimed. "That's a very nice flower you have there!"

The young brunette beamed. "Gee…thanks, Ms. Hazel!"

The kindergarten teacher smiled at the toddler and turned to help a student at the other end of the room.

Sora turned to his new classmate. "…thanks."

Riku grinned. "No problem."

From that moment on, Riku and Sora always hung out with each other, whether it was at school, the playground, or even at the beach. And when they hung out at school, not only did they play with each other every day and eat their snacks together, but Riku would always show Sora "the ropes." He would help the young brunette with his addition and subtraction, and show him how to make many more paper crafts like airplanes, cranes, and funny little hats. They were like two peas in a pod.

But later on…everything changed…when people started noticing Sora more than Riku at school. Also…it was as if…the brunette was actually doing better than the silver. It all started one day during arts and crafts when the students were making macaroni portraits of themselves. As usual, both Sora and Riku put all their effort into this project, but only one was commended for his hard work.

Ms. Hazel had walked past their red desk, but something had caught her eye, which made her stop.

Riku, expecting the usual compliments from his kindergarten teacher, held up his portrait for her to see. However, it was not _his _work of art that had caught her attention. The silver soon realized that it was _Sora's _that she was looking at eagerly. And even at this moment, the little brunette was still working earnestly on it.

"That's very nice, Sora!" the teacher exclaimed. She picked up the artwork for the whole class to see. "See? And it even looks just like you!"

The brunette smiled and blushed a little.

This made Riku feel a little jealous, and the silver tugged on Ms. Hazel's sleeve, hoping to receive the same praise. But things went…differently.

Ms. Hazel turned to see the macaroni portrait that the little silver had worked so hard on. Riku was eager to hear an enthusiastic comment from her, but the teacher only blinked, said, "Nice job, there, Riku. Keep up the good work," and walked away.

This made Riku feel a little strange inside. Ms. Hazel would have usually been a little more proud than this… The silver frowned and felt a little emptiness in his heart. But this was only the beginning.

Pretty soon, time passed, and Sora rarely hung out with Riku anymore. Over time, he started hanging out with the other kids in his class, and later on…it finally came to a point the brunette had left the usual red desk to join his newly made friends, leaving the poor little silver all by himself. This made Riku feel even more emptiness inside and perhaps a little anguish.

But what really ticked the little silver off was when Kairi started frequently hanging out with the brunette. He would always see the two of them together at the playground, school, and even the beach. It was if…Riku had been replaced. And not only that, but Sora had also stolen Kairi away from him, doing things that the silver-haired toddler had never been able to do. Sometimes when Riku would see the two, they would often be holding hands and laughing…mostly due to the hilarious jokes that the young brunette would frequently share. And Riku…well…he hadn't even gotten a chance to hold the redhead's hand—more or less…even say "hi" to her. At this point, Riku could only feel nothing but jealousy and hatred towards his former friend, and began ignoring Sora as well as scratching out any thought that they had ever been friends, no matter how small. He'd even wanted to express these feelings to the brunette…but he always refrained because he couldn't think about hurting him…even if he _did _hate the shy toddler. Plus, even if he did…it wouldn't get his other friends back…they'd just avoid him more. So instead of this, he took out all his anger on his work at school, working as hard as he could in hope of surpassing the monster he had created.

Unfortunately, no matter how much effort the silver put in…it still wasn't enough to even catch Ms. Hazel's attention…or even Kairi's. This hurt Riku very much on the inside, but that didn't stop him.

_(Robin's Nest, Valentine's Day)_

The young silver was finally going to step up to the plate and outdo his former friend. Since today was Valentine's Day, he decided he was going to do something very special for Kairi.

Riku had come to school a little early, and went out into the playground with a box of colored chalk. The little toddler sat down on the blacktop, took out a few pieces of chalk, and began to draw. _This'll catch her attention for sure, _the silver thought to himself.

_(Later on…)_

_Phew! _Riku had finally finished his magnum opus, and gazed down upon its greatness. Even he was amazed by his own work.

And it was beautiful, indeed. One gargantuan heart stood out on the blacktop, decorated with all sorts of colors. The outside of it was sprinkled with even more colorful hearts, only they were smaller and fun-sized. In addition, magnificent swirls were drawn in yellow chalk that seemed to connect all the hearts together.

The silver smiled. _Kingdom Hearts. _Then, he went back to join his classmates.

_(In the school)_

Finally, it was time for the students to exchange their Valentine's Day cards.

_This is it, _Riku thought, looking at the redheaded girl from a distance. _It's finally my chance to show her…but first…I should probably give her the chocolate…_

The silver stepped forward with a small box of chocolates in his hands and tapped Kairi on the shoulder. The girl turned around.

"Oh! Hi, Riku," Kairi spoke.

The sliver couldn't help but blush a little. "Hi, Kairi," he began. "I—"

But little Riku never got to finish that sentence when he saw the redheaded girl turn her head towards another direction. _Sora…holding an even bigger box of chocolates…_

"Hi, Sora!" Kairi exclaimed.

The brunette blushed. "Hi, Kairi. These are for you." He handed her the box of sweets.

The redhead beamed. "Gee, thanks, Sora! I love it!" She hugged the little toddler.

Riku cringed at the sight and backed away. _No…this can't be happening…not now…when I've worked so hard! _The hurt young silver bolted out of the room and onto the blacktop. He knelt down on the masterpiece he had created just for his little crush and banged his fists on the ground. _Great, _Riku thought. _There's no way she'll even come over here to notice what I've done for her, now that she's got her __**Sora **__around… _Riku cringed again. _She never even looked at me…from the very start…so why should I even bother? _He let out a sob.

Suddenly, he felt someone tap his shoulder. The miserable toddler turned, only to see a short kid with bushy brown hair and deep blue eyes, who looked like he was holding something behind his back, but Riku was too angry to notice. The silver immediately looked away. He clenched his fists and his teeth. _It's all his fault…_

"Hey, Riku," the brunette spoke.

_What does he want? _The latter thought. He opened his mouth to speak. "Yeah?"

"I was thinking…" Sora began.

_About what? About stealing even more of my friends? About abandoning me?_

"…you know, you've been really nice to me and everything…and…"

_About hurting my feelings? How sad I feel right now?_

"…how you were one of the first ones to welcome me and show me how to make paper hats and subtract…"

_I bet he doesn't even understand. He probably wants to rub it all in my face…_

"…and…I'm really thankful for all that you did for me…you see…I was thinking about…"

Riku growled to himself, but Sora was too distracted in his conversation to hear. He looked back and glared at the brunette.

_That little…why, he…_

At that moment, young Sora took out a small parcel from behind his back. "…so, this is for you. Since you've been so kind to me, I wanted to give this…"

But the silver paid no attention to what the little brunette was saying, for something else caught his eye. He stared anxiously at where the blue-eyed toddler was standing. _The very core of Kingdom Hearts…the biggest heart of them all…and now, he's…_

Sora laughed. "…so, here. Thank you for being so nice to me. Will you be my friend?"

Riku cringed and abruptly stood up, his hands shaking. He looked at the young brunette straight in the face. "_YOU'RE IN MY HEART!__NOW__** GET OUT!**__" _The silver screamed.

For a moment, his voice echoed across the playground.

Little Sora immeditately shrank back upon hearing this and slowly took a step back.

The silver stood there on the blacktop, panting. He looked up at Sora, and his eyes widened in surprise.

The young brunette's face flushed into a bright pink, and his lips began to tremble. Soon, tears began to run down his chubby, tan cheeks. Sora let out a sob.

Riku froze at the sight, wondering what had startled the toddler so much. _He only told him to get out of the heart he had drawn…his heart… _Then, after a few seconds, the silver finally realized the terrible thing he had done. _"YOU'RE IN MY HEART! NOW __**GET OUT!**__" _The words still rang in young Riku's ears.

Sora sobbed and more tears ran down his face.

The silver softened his gaze, and reached out to comfort the crying brunette. "Sora, I…I didn't mean…"

But little Sora only backed away from the one who had hurt him.

"I…"

The brunette turned and sprinted away.

At that moment, Riku could feel nothing but guilt in his heart, and got up to look for Sora. _Shoot…_

"Sora!" the little silver called. "Where are you?' He looked around the playground, until he heard a sniffling sound behind the bushes. Riku followed the sniffling sound, and found the small brunette sitting on a bench, crying his eyes out.

The young silver gazed quietly at the sobbing Sora, then slowly walked over to sit next to him. He gently touched the little toddler's shoulder.

Sora sniffled and looked at Riku, his eyes bloodshot and swollen. The brunette immediately shrank back upon sensing the young silver's presence, but Riku held on to Sora's shoulder.

"Wait," Riku spoke softly. "I…I won't hurt you anymore, Sora."

The brunette sniffled and wiped his eyes.

The silver looked into the deep blue eyes and continued to speak softly. "I…I came here to…to say…I'm sorry."

Sora stared at the green-eyed toddler in silence.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you like that…you see…I was just…." Riku hesitated for a moment before speaking. "…I was angry with you, Sora."

The brunette blinked. "…why?"

"…because…because…I was…I was jealous of you back there. I was jealous of how you were able to make so many friends when I couldn't…to actually talk to Kairi when I couldn't even say hi to her. …and I was mad because of how you…how you left me out there…all by myself…how…how you _abandoned _me for everyone else…". His shoulders began to shake.

Sora gazed softly at Riku, and gently touched his shoulder. Tears began to form under the little silver's green eyes.

The latter looked at the brunette. "I was…I was so alone…and it _hurt _so much…" He said quietly. "And all I wanted…was for everyone to notice me again…that's why…I _made _Kingdom Hearts…not just for Kairi, but for the others as well…"

The brunette stared at the latter in confusion.

Riku sniffled. "See…and you didn't even notice it…" He paused for a moment.

Sora slightly tightened his grip on the boy's shoulder.

The silver wiped his eyes. "You see…when I told you to 'get out of my heart'…I meant the drawing I made on the ground…not my _real _heart…'cause…you were stepping on it and everything and…and it made me feel…so…angry. I didn't know that you…"

At this point, he could no longer hold back his tears and hugged the brunette. The silver sobbed.

Sora softly gazed at the crying silver and comforted him. "Shh…it's okay…"

More sobs and sniffles could be heard from Riku, who couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed letting Sora see him like this. This was all very rare because he _never _cried or even shed a _tear_…until now.

Suddenly, he could vaguely remember the last thing the little brunette had asked him and immediately looked at Sora. "And I…I _do _want to be your friend, Sora! I do!" The little silver sobbed again. "Sora…will you ever…forgive me?" he asked, voice trembling.

The brunette's eyes widened, and he smiled. "Of course!"

The green-eyed toddler looked up at Sora.

He smiled again. "Of course I will! You're my friend after all!"

Riku sniffled, then cracked a grin as well.

Sora smiled, then took something out of his pocket. "Oh, right. I almost forgot…here."

The latter took the small parcel in his hand and opened it, revealing a small, twinkle from inside. His eyes widened in surprise. "Wow!"

It was a…pin. And not just any ordinary pin—it was shiny and red. It was also shaped like half a heart, but it looked like the other half had been broken off…and in the middle of it, was a small engraving…one word: _friends._

Riku looked at the brunette, who took another thing from his pocket. It was another pin that looked just like his…except it said: _forever. _Sora smiled at the silver and took his hand that was holding the pin. The brunette brought both their hands together until…the two pins fit together, forming a full red heart. Riku's eyes widened. "They…"

Sora grinned again and looked up at the evening sky. "See?"

Riku looked up in the same direction.

The brunette continued. "…our hearts are connected."

The silver smiled upon hearing this and curiously gazed at the purple clouds above him.

After a few minutes, he shifted his eyes back to Sora, who was still mesmerized by the sunset.

Riku hesitated, then spoke in a quiet voice. "Hey…Sora?"

The brunette looked at his friend. "Yeah?"

"Uh…can I ask you to do something for me?"

The latter nodded. "Sure."

The silver paused, then leaned in close to Sora's ear. The small brunette listened eagerly.

"…don't tell _anyone _about this."

Sora laughed at the look on Riku's face. "Sure thing…"

The silver listened patiently.

"…friend."

_(12 years later…)_

"C'mon Riku!" Sora called.

"Where are we going?" the older silver asked, panting.

"You'll find out soon! C'mon!"

The two older men continued to run up the path until they reached a familiar little building.

Riku's eyes widened. "This is…"

Sora nodded. "Yup. Robin's Nest Kindergarten. …hasn't changed one bit." He turned to a nearby corner. "C'mon, let's go over there!" The brunette ran around the little corner until he disappeared behind the building.

The silver sighed and followed his friend. _Always as enthusiastic as ever…_

But when he finally reached the old playground, he immediately stopped in his tracks.

Sora was just standing there…quietly, staring at the ground.

_I wonder what he's looking at? _Riku thought to himself. He approached the brunette, then froze when he saw an oddly familiar _heart-shaped_ figure etched onto the blacktop…

"…Kingdom Hearts…" the silver spoke softly.

At that moment, Sora immediately turned around to look at Riku with a playful expression on his face. Then, he shifted his blue eyes to where he was standing.

Riku focused his sight on the same spot, and his eyes widened.

The brunette paused, then spoke. "I'm in your heart again, aren't I, Riku?"

The silver was speechless and could only stare...

Sora smiled. "Do you want me to get out? I--" The brunette was startled to feel his silver-haired friend, hugging him tightly. Sora softened his countenance and hugged him back.

Riku leaned his head against the brunette's, near his tan ear.

He paused, then finally spoke. "…_Never_. …you're staying in my heart…whether you like it or not." The silver grinned.

Sora laughed. "Is that so?"

Riku looked fervently into the latter's cerulean eyes and nodded.

The brunette laughed and hugged the silver again. "Okay…then I will."

Riku paused and took something small and shiny out of his pocket. _That same pin…_

Sora's eyes widened. Then, he took his out of his pocket.

Riku took the brunette's hand and slowly brought the pieces together…one more time.

The blue-eyed teenager gazed softly at the full heart.

The silver smiled and looked into Sora's eyes.

The brunette looked back.

Sora pondered for a moment, then spoke. "Hey, Riku…"

The silver turned to face the brunette. "…yeah?"

The latter continued. "…we're best buds, right?"

Riku's eyes widened at the unexpected question, then nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

Sora paused again for a minute. Then, he asked another question. "…and we'll always be together…right?" The brunette now had a solemn expression on his face.

The silver gazed softly at the brunette, then looked at the evening sky. "…yes." He turned to his blue-eyed friend. "And do you want to know why?"

Sora looked confused for a moment. "…why?"

Riku smiled and shifted his eyes back to the brunette. "Because…" He lifted both their hands up, each still holding a pin.

Sora's eyes widened.

"…our hearts are connected."

The two grinned and looked back at the orangey pink sky.

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**Author's Notes: **Well, hope you all liked it (and are still human up to this point XD). RikuxSora 4ever! ^^ Please review and comment! =)

.::~*Kitsune*~::.

**FYI: **This story was inspired by my buddy Kim--a memory back at the school I graduated from. It also happened on the playground/school parking lot and involved different shapes that were drawn in chalk on the ground. Yes--"You're in my heart, now get out!" is _her _quote (but it was all an accident XD). Ahh...love ya, Kim, wherever you are! ^^


End file.
